It's the way you are
by ApatheticKunaiPrincess
Summary: Attending high school is already a hard load for teens homework, peers, everyday struggles in modern Tokyo. Chap2!
1. Woolgathering in broad daylight

Synopsis: Attending high school is already a hard load for teens; homework, peers, everyday struggles in modern Tokyo. --In the past few days Sasuke is having the same dream, a rainy scene, a person crying. What does this mean?

Disclaimer:

I do not own the characters of the great Kishimoto's work of ninjas and jutsus, popularly known today as the "Naruto" series.

Everything that transpired in the story below is only a product of the author's (that's me) imagination and passion to create works of art (which are the fan fictions).

If certain names, name of places, happenings are of the same value of another author's work, let me inform you that the case is completely coincidential. --(what's this? A movie?)

_Got it memorized? -Axel_

----+----+----+----+----+_----+----+----  
_

_I want you to tell me that you love me..._

_...I want to hear it from you..._

_...I need you to tell me... _

_..because that is the only thing..._

_...that matters now..._

_"W-w-wait... Don't go..."_

_"It's too late..."_

_The heavens finally sent down a drizzle, drenching the flowers, the foliage as well as the two figures standing in a distance from each other. Cold rain fell onto the already stained cheeks of the latter as the other shakes his head, trying to hold back his emotions from pouring out right in front of a person he truly cares about, a person close to him. He didn't want this person to be away from his side but after the inevitable happen this friend must flee to the aid of another country, away from the other for a period of time._

_Not having a response, the latter decides to go. _

_"Goodbye now." the figure smiled warmly to the other despite the circumstances, wiping the tears that wouldn't stop flowing. _

_Not letting a second pass, the other runs towards the latter, grabbing the latter's arm._

_"No! I won't let you go! I-I don't want you to go..." he puts his arms around the latter's waist and over the shoulders. He rests his head against the latter's, hugging the latter from behind._

_The latter can not do anything but smile at the other's actions._

_"You must understand, this meeting will be our last if you won't let me go." the latter said with a comforting tone, holding the other's hands._

_"I know that..." the other softly whispers to the latter's ear. "The reason that I can't let you go is because I still haven't told you that I.. I love you..."_

_"Hmm?"_

_"I said..._

...AISHITERU!"

"Whoa!" the whole class reacted after the young Uchiha suddenly bursted in the middle of the class discussion, startling everyone.

"S-Sasuke-kun..." some girls, sitting in front of Sasuke, uttered as they almost fainted.

"Whoa! What the hell are you talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered as he nudged the Uchiha from the side, bringing him back to his senses.

"What?" Sasuke said as he rubbed his eye.

"Sasuke, you were sleeping again." Sakura turned to her back, facing the Uchiha and the laughing Naruto.

"What did I do now?" Sasuke asked as he turned his gaze to Sakura after fwapping Naruto with a book.

"Well, you suddenly shouted 'aishiteru'." Sakura said as she turned to face front. "You should think of another excuse now because here comes Sir Iruka."

Sasuke slightly nodded as he looks up seeing Iruka staring down at him with a rolled bunch of paper at hand, ready to go for the kill.

"Would you mind to explain to us what just happened, Uchiha?" Iruka said as he tapped his foot, glaring at the Uchiha, who is speechless as of the moment.

"I'm sorry Sir Iruka." Sasuke said with a bow.

Everyone in the class gasped seeing Sasuke bow so low, especially the girls.

"S-S-Sasuke-kun...!.." some girls uttered as they stared, wide-eyed at the Uchiha. "Y-Yo-You don't need to bow Sasuke-kun."

"Hmm...I'm surprised not to hear any excuses this time Uchiha. I bet that it's the same excuse as before, am I right, Haruno?" Iruka said as he tapped her head with the rolled bunch of paper.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." Sakura nodded.

"Good." Iruka said as he glanced at Sasuke for a second before he turned his back and started to walk back to the front. "Now everyone, that is all for today, just remember your assignment in Ancient History, chapter 10, we will have a quiz tomorrow."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." the class replied.

The bell rung signaling the start of recess time.

"Hey Sasuke. You did well back there." Sakura said as the three of them walk to the cafeteria.

"Yeah. We didn't expect that you would bow, that took a lot of courage you know." Naruto added with a laugh as they got their food from the cafeteria ladies.

"Whatever. I just couldn't think of anything else, I can't think of another excuse. I have tons of ideas but I just can't put all the words together." Sasuke said with a sigh as they walk around looking for a spot to sit.

"That seems to be like a terminal case of brain damage to me." Naruto said having another laugh.

"Cut it out Naruto!" Ino said as she appeared next to Sakura.

"Whoa! The blonde witch lives!" Naruto said, not ending his laughter.

"Hmph! Whatever" Ino retorted.

"Guys! Over here!" Hinata said as she waved her hand to the group.

"Oh, Hinata-chan!" Sakura said as she waves back. "There's our seat."

The group approached the table where Hinata is. She is with Neji, Lee, Ten-Ten, Shino, Kiba and Chouji. They seated themselves in the long table with their food and they started to eat and chat about what happened to Sasuke and in his class.

"So that's it." Sakura said as she sipped some of her apple juice after narrating everything that happened.

"Well, everything's fine but what I can't believe is that Sasuke bowed." Kiba said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"Of all things why bow?" Lee added.

"Weird, ne?" Naruto stressed.

The group nodded in unison, including Sasuke.

"I didn't know what has gotten into me at that time." Sasuke said, resting his back against the seat. "I was surprised at what I did myself."

"Possessed?" Kiba turned to Shino who just shook his head.

"Nah, Sasuke's too strong to be possessed." Naruto said as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Will you guys just stop making fun of what happened!" Sakura and Ino shouted in unison.

"Sasuke was just dreaming, right?" Sakura said as she turned to look at Sasuke.

"Yeah, maybe." Sasuke replied half-heartedly as he spaces out.

"But what can we do? We all want to know why you shouted those three little words all of a sudden." Neji said as he eyed Sasuke intently.

"Neji's right. We heard you shout even if we are in the other class." Ten-Ten added.

Sasuke didn't reply as he continues to space out as the others continue chatting their time away.

_"They're right. Why **did** I shouted all of a sudden? I know it's because of the dream I had. The dream where I stood in the rain with another person, and that person was crying. Wait . That wasn't a dream, that was a memory. My memory with------"_

Sasuke stopped spacing out as a hand touched his, which startled him a bit.

"Wha---" Sasuke was cut off as he looked in front of him, seeing who reached out to him.

"Is something bothering you?" Hinata asked as she stares at Sasuke with a worried look.

"I-I'm fine." Sasuke replied with a jumpy tone as he sees that his hand was still held by Hinata, which made him blush a bit.

The others stared at the two as they stopped their own conversations. Neji, Shino, Kiba and Naruto pierced their eyes directly at Hinata and Sasuke's 'joined' hands. The two immediately retrieved their hands as they realize that their fingers were intertwined with the other, giving them both cold sweat running down their backs.

"I-i-it's not what you guys think." Sasuke said defensively as he scooted himself away from the group to the edge of his seat.

All Hinata can do is to bow her head and cover her face with her hands to hide her from blushing.

"I'm sorry, minna-san."

Neji gently pats her head. "You didn't do anything wrong, you just wanted to help Sasuke, that's all."

Hinata nodded, still hiding her face.

"What's wrong was that it was Sasuke's fingers that were intertwined to your fingers." Neji glared at Sasuke for a second. "Anyway, I think that's normal between friends." Neji sighs in resignation.

The group double nods.

"Now that that case is closed, can you guys start cleaning your place?" Shikamaru appeared behind Naruto, making Naruto jump out of his seat.

"Darn it, Shikamaru! Don't sneak up on me again! Especially when I'm eating." Naruto retorted as he munches on some pastry.

"Sure, whatever." Shikamaru waves his hand dismissively at Naruto.

"So, how's the president doing?" Ino asked as she nudged Shikamaru.

"Pretty fine. I'm getting used to it, though." Shikamaru said with a laugh.

"Kyaa His pride is so overpowering it's spreading." Sakura said as the others nodded and scooted away from Shikamaru.

"If you're already used to it then go rush to the JHSCO and make an announcement about the activities this afternoon before our third period starts, which is the physical examination tests." Gaara said as he peered next to Shikamaru, startling Shikamaru in the process, making the president jump. "Hi guys."

"G-Ga-Gaara! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Shikamaru said as he grabbed his shirt over his heart sarcastically.

"Welcome to the club Shikamaru." Naruto said as he finished his drink.

--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------

Oh, ihank the goddesses that part was through...Pretty short, ne? Don't worry I'll do much better next time. Reviews please! I need them!

In this story, you'll see the "softer" side of the known Uchiha (if there is a softer side..-remembers the cheery 6-7 year old Sasuke-). I can't help it, at least the setting changed.

It's so relaxing too that I was able to submit this. 'Til the next chapter! Ja ne!

Oh, wait! One more thing. It's pretty obvious that I'm a Sasuke fan, ne? But don't be too convinced with that. . Again, Ja ne!


	2. It's a dream no a memory

This is the 2nd chapter! Wheeeee!

I believe that from here there'll be lots of flashbacks,

so be prepared to be confused…mwahahahaha!...just kidding….but I'm serious

about the flashback scenes though.

---------

Sitting comfortably with his back against the wall, the gust of mid-summer wind danced with the Uchiha's dark locks over coal black eyes. Staring bleakly at the tinted orange sky, he falls to a slumber which sends him drifting into memory bliss.

_Alone I cannot walk_

_Time's winds are too strong_

_Ah, it's wounded_

_I should have gotten used to it_

After eight grueling hours of study, students of the whole school rejoiced at the rather irritating but heavenly sound, the afternoon bell.

"Hurrah! Exam week is over!" Naruto rejoiced as he jumped up and down on his seat like crazy.

"Yeah! Hello winter break!" Kiba added.

"Naruto! Quit monkeying around, let's go to the gym." Sakura said as she yanked the blonde off the chair and dragged him outside the classroom.

"Why? What's the happening?" Naruto asked as he walked with the rest of the group.

"Don't you know anything?" Ino hissed as she tapped Naruto's shoulder to grab his attention.

Naruto shrugged as he crossed his arms. "Oh, it's you…the blondie witc--."

Ino fwapped Naruto with a paper fan before he can finish what he's about to say.

"Baka, don't you dare call me by that name when he's around." Ino squealed at the blonde who just turned with his tongue out at her.

"He? Who's he?" Naruto cocked his head to the side as they went inside the gym and sat themselves near the front.

"Naruto, did you forget? Today is the elections for our student council next school year." Sakura said matter-of-factly. "After we finished our tests, we will proceed to the gymnasium to watch the candidate's presentation and afterwards, the voting."

"Ah, I see." Naruto as he tapped his fist gently to his palm. "Now I remember. And the "he" that you were talking about is----"

The students seated screamed their lungs out as the program starts with two students coming up on stage, a guy and a girl.

"Kyaaaa! Uchiha-san!" The girls screamed as the guy holds his microphone, ready to start.

"Yeah! Kizunashi-san!" The guys howled and screamed as the girl signaled to open the lights at the stage.

"Whoa…the whole student body is going wild!" Lee uttered with total amazement.

"What do you expect? With those two together, this election won't be a quiet one." Neji stated.

"Welcome to our school." Shino said to the transferee as he sat beside Naruto.

"It's beginning." Sakura said as the program commenced for an hour of screaming and shouting of names and of course, voting.

---------

"Waaaaahh…I'm glad that's over." Shikamaru mumbled after finishing a can of Pokari right outside the student council office.

"Hmm…" Gaara uttered as he grabbed their things. "We must go now. It's past five o' clock." He said as he tossed the bags to his two companions.

"He's right, the school will close early today." Neji said as he appeared next to Gaara.

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru said dismissively as the four walked to the school gate.

From a distance, the group can hear sounds of chatting and laughter. Nearing the school gate, two figures can be seen, standing under a sakura tree. One girl with a short blue-black hair and ivory eyes, having quite a hearty laugh, and the other girl, with long ocean blue hair and blue-green, deep blue eyes, who seems to be the one giving out the jokes.

The group approaches the sakura tree and greeted the two girls there.

"Hi there, you two. Have you two been waiting for long?" Shikamaru asked with a laugh.

"Not so long I guess." Hinata said as she smiled warmly at the group.

"Oh, Shimaru. Nice speech, by the way." The long haired said as she patted Shikamaru on the head.

After finishing his drink, Sasuke looked at the two girls before him. "Hi Sasume." Sasuke greeted with a nod at the long haired one as he patted her on the head, shuffling her hair a bit.

"Hey! Stop messing with my hair Sasuke." Sasume pouted at Sasuke as she pinched his cheeks.

"Well, you started it. You shouldn't have messed with my hair this morning." Sasuke replied as he continues to mess with her hair.

"It's not my fault that you didn't have a comb with you. And I didn't ask you to sleepover at my house." Sasume retorted as she swirls a comb in front of Sasuke's face.

"Have you forgotten already that you were the one who told me to stay and study together?" Sasuke answered bringing his face closer to hers mockingly.

"Y-You…little…" Sasume muttered as she pinched his cheeks harder.

"Little what? Come on, tell me." Sasuke taunted.

"Uhmm…Sasume-chan, Sasuke-kun…" Hinata said as she tapped their shoulders which made the two stop.

"Hinata, we shouldn't interfere during a lovers' quarrel." Neji said as he patted Hinata's shoulder and pulled her gently away from the two.

"Lovers' quarrel?" Hinata said with a blush.

Neji, Shikamaru and Gaara nodded in unison.

"Their pheromones are overwhelming." Shikamaru said as they scooted away from the two sarcastically.

"W-W-Wha ---" Sasume and Sasuke managed to utter as a bright flush appeared on their cheeks, noticing how close they are from each other.

The group just laughed at the two.

"Well, well, lookie here. It looks like you guys are having quite a good laugh over here." A girl with long black hair and Prussian blue eyes, wearing a black trench coat appeared at the gate.

"So it seems." A guy with coal black eyes and hair the same as Sasuke's, wearing almost the same coat appeared beside the girl.

"Nee-san." Sasume uttered as she nods a bit.

"Nii-san." Sasuke eyed the guy as he slightly nodded.

"You two are late today. Got any troubles?" Shikamaru asked as he nods a bit.

"Not much. We have a small case tonight, just a piece of cake for you guys." Azaya said as she brings out a notepad and scans the contents.

"We need to attend a yakuza's dinner party tonight. It's the usual process, hack the security databases, disable all alarms, unlock all passageways, get to the safe where the stolen items are hidden, get it to the car and have fun at the party." Azaya continued as she handed Itachi the notepad.

"His name is Mr. Shinohara Kazuki. Background: he served the military for 15 years as a lieutenant but resigned after a case against the governing general. He has two daughters and a son, they're triplets; all 15 years of age. His wife, deceased. And no mistresses. He has a fine interest on music and art so the party that you'll be attending is out of usual." Itachi read the brief information on the pad and sighed on his last statement.

"Well? What kind of party is it?" Gaara asked impulsively, startling the others.

"A…" Azaya and Itachi uttered.

"A what?" The group asked as they scooted closer to listen.

"A masquerade party." The two said in unison.

The word brought chills down their spine as random images zoomed into their mind, long formal dresses, bows and ties, colorful masks, feathers and such.

"W-What the--?" Shikamaru was the one who recovered first.

"M-Masquerade…?" Hinata mumbled. "But, we don't have dresses for masquerade parties."

"Oh, Hinata-chan. Don't worry about the clothes because we already have them made for you." Azaya said with a smile. "We already have them delivered at your houses, so hurry home and get in those works of art because we will meet you at the pavilion at 7:15pm." Azaya said as she and Itachi rides the car.

"Don't be late." Itachi said before they rode off.

--------

"Uhmm…Sasuke." Hinata said as she gently shook Sasuke to wake him.

"Oh, Hinata…what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked as he rubbed his eye.

Hinata smiles warmly at Sasuke as she hands him his jacket.

"You shouldn't stay here for too long now. It's almost nightfall. You'll catch a cold." Hinata said as she stood and walked to the door.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't notice that I've been sleeping for that long already." Sasuke said as he stood and puts on his jacket. He looks up at the darkened sky of dusk.

Walking towards the door, Sasuke stopped for a while as he sees the clouds sitting still above, staring back at him.

"You know Hinata. I miss her." Sasuke said as he smiled a bit then he looked at Hinata. "Do you?"

"Of course I do." Hinata said as she stood beside Sasuke and also looked up to the sky. "Remember what she said the night before she left?" Hinata asked Sasuke who gave a slight nod.

"No matter how long it takes for us to see each other again, we will never forget each other because we will always remember."

The _italicized_ part was taken from the song "Forever Love" from X

Yay! 2nd Chap! Yay!

Reviews please..!..

This chapter is one big flashback…

Flashback Dream

..and so are the few chaps ahead…

..oh…and I'm the Sasume girl (obviously)….Ja ne, minna!


End file.
